Queenstown - Day 2
The fit and healthy of us (Courts and Caleb) head off for a morning run for sunrise. The pics suggest this is exactly how you should start your day in Queenstown.
We're aiming to tackle what AllTrails is calling the Thunder Goat track to get up to where the gondola ends and where the downhill luge is.
We get about 10 minutes in and realise it's going to be too dangerous with a shoddy ankle and for Caleb with Bailey on his back. The track is slippery and very steep. Not a great combo. We carefully make our way down and over to the gondola.
Up we go and it's damn steep. The steepest in the Southern Hemisphere. There are goats hanging out beneath us half way up the mountain. No idea how they possibly got there or will ever get down.
At the top, we get the photos and head to the luge. We can see where we hiked to yesterday. The top of the pine tree line:
1st run is on the beginner track. Even that gets you moving pretty quickly. It's really up to you how much you want to scare yourself. Later on we see a young lad in tears and riding with his Dad. His luge left behind somewhere on the mountain. Must have been a decent stack.
Next run down Jeff and Caleb race on the faster track. That got the heart rate up and the luge actually smoking.
One more run and the fun is done. Back down on the gondola and time for some food.
We need that ramen fix and we get it from a different place than where we tried last time. We're there at 11:59am and there are people waiting for it to open. Tasty stuff. Worth persisting with.
We wander down to the beach again and Jeff gets his feet in. He's talked a big game of going for a swim, but so far, no dice.
We're off to board a steam boat that is going to take us up Wakatipu Lake to a farm.
The sun is shining and they have more amazing local beers on tap. We settle in for the 40 minute trip and fill our camera rolls. Stunning stuff everywhere you look.
The farm is half working sheep and cattle farm, half tourist "feed the animals" and sheepdog demonstrations.
We do the tour of the animals; the highland cows are the highlight, looking like something out of Star Wars.
Time for some afternoon tea (more scones) before heading over to watch the sheepdog demonstration.
The dogs had been wandering around with us for the day but now it's time to work. Only one of them gets to do the demo today and the other one is tied up. Not happy about it either!
The other dog flies up the steep hill, hugging the boundary fence and starts corralling the flock of sheep down towards the pen. Job done in less than 10 minutes. Easy as you like. You can see how much they love to work and how well trained they are. Keen to see more of this one day.
Back on the boat for the trip home. The sun and the afternoon beer have taken their toll on some of us.
We head back to the house for a freshen up and Courts and Jeff decide to head back into town for a late dinner and to see if there is anything to see (another casino we think we spotted earlier, perhaps?)
Pub meal delivers the goods. 5-star fish and chips, with a slice of buttered white bread (they love their bread and scones here) and a very large pint of beer.
We wander to the casino, but of course it's closed. Some weird opening hours in Queenstown. Lots of places are shut on random days. We hear it's for the hospitality workers so they can go and ski. But the casino looked closed for renovations.
We come home via the main part of town, don't really feel like partying. It's a bit too party for us tonight. Jeff plays a bit of blackjack at the other casino and we call it a night.